Today I spent more than my average 2 minutes doing Charlotte’s hair. Usually it’s just a side pony on the top of her head, or pigtails if I’m feeling ambitious. Today I did an awesome triple pony tail thing. It took at least 7 minutes.

Let me explain something delicate. I love my daughter. I think she is more beautiful than any 2-year-old to ever walk the planet. But…sometimes when her hair’s not done she looks like a homeless street urchin.

It’s my own fault. She inherited her frizz from me, and her hair just isn’t thick enough yet to make it lie flat. So when I don’t tame her hair, she looks like she has a fuzzy cloud surrounding her head. It’s actually kind of awesome.

Now time for my true confession: the reason I spent 7 minutes on her hair today is because it’s harder to stay mad at her when she looks adorable. So when she asks me for milk 17 times before I even pull her out of her crib, or when she only takes a 30 minute nap and wakes up just as I’m falling asleep, or when she grinds pizza sauce into the carpet…I can just look at my 7 minutes of handiwork and remember that she is too adorable to strangle. Seriously, this is how I stay out of prison.

My sister and I joke that natural selection has caused toddlers to be overwhelmingly adorable as a defense mechanism. All of the ugly toddler genes have been weeded out by parents offing their own kids. Fortunately for Charlotte, thousands of years of this phenomenon have caused her to be overwhelmingly cute. Thus ensuring her survival. Lucky kid.

So here’s a 30 minute meal for you. Who doesn’t love chicken right? This recipe is simple but de-li-cious. I like that it’s not fussy. It’s called Garlic Lime Chicken and doesn’t even call for fresh garlic. Sometimes you just gotta keep it simple. Honestly you won’t miss it. Use a meat thermometer to get your chicken just right. I paired this with some broccoli and mashed potatoes (which is great to drizzle the extra sauce over, by the way).

All growing up we had a piece of paper taped to the inside of our cupboard that had meal ideas listed on it. It had gems on it like Chicken n Broccoli Stuff, Meat n Potato Stuff, “chicken patties and mashed potatoes” (my mom’s favorite meal to this day, I think), french dip, and spaghetti. Most of the list is in my mom’s handwriting, but a few toward the bottom were written by my older siblings. My favorite part is on the lower left hand side where it says, “Keich.” Then queich. Then quiech…it doesn’t say quiche anywhere. My sister Nikki is probably one of the smartest people I know, but she can’t spell worth crap. We’ve got the Keich to prove it.

So I think it’s kind of funny that she writes novels. Although it shouldn’t be funny, because the ability to tell a good story is no doubt in a completely separate part of your brain than the part that makes you a good speller. I’d take the storytelling gene any day.

Her years of hard work are finally starting to pay off. Last weekend her manuscript won the Grand Prize for all categories at a writing conference she attended. She had agents hunting her down after she won the award, so hopefully a publishing gig is on the horizon. And then you can all experience the amazingness that is her YA romantic suspese Shatter. Want a teaser? You know you do:

Kiss a guy?

I’d had sushi once, which felt like eating a pair of lips.  I assumed kissing would be similar only without the ginger and wasabi sauce.

Did I want to kiss a guy?  Ginger and wasabi sauce were the only good parts of sushi.

I still giggle every time I read this. You can finish reading the first few pages of the book on Nikki’s blog over here. A jacket-cover description can be found here. I’ve read the whole book, and can tell you that it is not only going to be published one day, but eventually someone is going to buy the movie rights for it, and we can all sit back and watch the awesomeness unfold. (Slumber party at my house, you’re all invited.) Congrats Nikki! You’re amazing!

Now let’s talk Keich. I used to think the best part of quiche was the ham and the crust, but that was before I tried adding asparagus. Talk about awesome. Add in the goat cheese and I can say with conviction that this is the best quiche I have ever eaten. Never thought I would say that about something meatless, but it’s true. It was really easy to put together. Change your life today!

So now that we’ve officially decided to move there are about a billion things to take care of. Finding a new place to live, choosing a moving company, not to mention packing. My good friend Sarah texted me earlier today asking me if I was stressed about the move. I said no, of course not, I’m totally in denial. Then she told me that before I responded she had said to her husband, “Karen’s probably not stressed, she’s just going to pretend it’s not happening until the last possible minute.” I’m a procrastinator, what can I say.

Yet somehow I can always find motivation to make delicious sandwiches.  Let’s break these babies down: delicious artisan bread toasted with butter, then smeared with goat cheese, topped with garlicky roasted tomatoes, sprinkled with herbs, drizzled with a balsamic reduction and then topped with Parmesan crisps. That’s right, Parmesan crisps. Why don’t they sell these? I was eating them like potato chips. I really don’t think I need to say anything else to sell this sandwich to you. Go eat one. Then come help me pack boxes.